1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and system for providing program-related information to viewers while the viewers are watching the program. The invention also relates to a program-related information providing method for use in the above-described apparatus or system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, there is provided a method for providing information related to a television broadcast program, for example, information concerning props, such as the clothes and articles worn by actors, and the filming location in a drama program, player statistics in a sport program, recipes in a cooking program, and the destination in a travel program, to program viewers in real time while they are watching the program.
In the above-described program-related information providing method, the vertical blanking periods of television signals may be used.
Television signals include vertical blanking periods, which are not displayed by regular television signal receivers, and the program-related information may be inserted into the vertical blanking periods. That is, the program-related information can be multiplexed with television signals. The program and the multiplexed program-related information can be provided to users by transmitting such television signals.
However, the bandwidth of the vertical blanking periods of the television signals is limited, and the amount of program-related information which can be inserted into the program is accordingly restricted. Therefore, the versatility of the program-related information which can be provided to the users is seriously hampered.
Since the program-related information is multiplexed with television signals, it is inevitable that the amount of information is increased, and the time for transmitting the information accordingly becomes longer.
Additionally, in order to provide the program-related information in a predetermined scene to program viewers while they are watching the program, it is necessary to cache the program-related information in a receiver in advance. This makes the configuration of the receiver complicated.